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Book Reviews

Intertwined

Humble Journeys on the Pathway to God

The Bible is full of accounts of God using an audible voice, various signs and wonders, prophets, angels, and even a donkey to get people’s attention. But does God still communicate through dreams and visions, encounters with angels, and other messengers? And could he possibly even use deceased souls to reach out to humans?

Cheryl McCausland and Laura Terry are convinced that is the case. In Intertwined: Humble Journeys on the Pathway to God, they tell of multiple instances where they have each had intriguing paranormal experiences and unusual interactions with seemingly everyday people who, they see in retrospect, provided specific encouragement or direction to them. They also detail many vivid dreams and visitations that Terry’s younger sister, Tracy, has had as far back as her early childhood. From their Christian perspective, McCausland and Terry believe people need to be more attentive to God’s efforts to interact with them in whatever manner he may choose, and to also have “the willingness to open [their] hearts, quiet [their] minds, and to think.”

The chapters are short, but the authors’ tight writing quickly draws the reader into each episode. By frequently rotating the narrative between the accounts of the authors and Tracy’s story, the concept of lives being “intertwined” is well developed.

The main flaw of the text is the fact that though the authors claim their viewpoint is Christian, the things they write of can be more easily associated with New Age beliefs—references to spirit guides, channeling, and “spiritual beings trapped between heaven and earth.” Another concept along these lines is the “river of souls” they describe. The authors wonder, “Indeed, souls must be gathered somewhere in the universe, awaiting God’s final call. While they wait, isn’t it possible that they undertake God’s work here on earth?” The only direct quotes cited in the book are from New Age-guru Deepak Chopra.

The authors write that their goal is “to have paved the way for [people] who struggle to incorporate otherwise unexplainable occurrences into [their] daily lives.” From the start, McCausland and Terry simply ask readers to be open-minded to the myriad ways in which God communicates. The stories are indeed interesting and thought-provoking.